U.S. Places Sixth in 5K Team Event at FINA World Championships

7/25/2013

The United States’ trio of Haley Anderson (Granite Bay, Calif.), Andrew Gemmell (Wilmington, Del.) and Sean Ryan (Chattanooga, Tenn.) placed sixth Thursday in the open water 5-kilometer team event at the 2013 FINA World Championships.

The Americans finished with a time of 54:44.7. Germany touched more than one minute clear of the field to win gold in 52:54.9. The silver and bronze medals were decided by just two-tenths of a second, as Greece was second in 54:03.3 and Brazil placed third in 54:03.5.

Starting one minute apart, 22 teams competed in the time trial-style race at Barcelona’s Moll de la Fusta. The teams worked together as packs throughout the event, and the team’s final time was registered when their final competitor touched.

“We won in 2011 and our goal was to defend the title. That’s the mindset we came in with, so we’re a little disappointed coming up short,” Gemmell said. “All of us are very competitive and we wanted to be on that medal stand, but you live and you learn.”

Two years ago in Shanghai, China, the U.S. team of Gemmell, Ryan and Ashley Twichell won gold in the inaugural 5K Team Event. The race today marked the only second time the U.S. had competed in this style of race.

The open water competition concludes with the 25K race Saturday. Eva Fabian (Keene, N.H.) and Christine Jennings (Longmont, Colo.) will swim on the women’s side, and Alex Meyer (Ithaca, N.Y.) and Jordan Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif.) will represent the U.S. men.

Following the open water action, pool competition at the FINA World Championships is set for July 28-Aug. 4. Complete championships information is available online at bcn2013.com.